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It's been a magical year for me.
I'm a bit sad that it ended.
What feels bigger at this point, winning the championship or the Indy 500?
The 500.
By far.
I think it would be a lot tougher for me to go to NASCAR.
Those races looked challenging.
That was something that I was chasing.
Not now.
I'm happy here.
Welcome to Kevin Harvick's happy hour presented by NASCAR on Fox.
And today we've got four-time IndyCar champion now, Alex Palo.
And Alex, thanks for joining us and congratulations, man.
Four of the last five years, that's outstanding.
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
It's been a tremendous couple of years with CGR and IndyCar and lots of great success.
So I've been having a lot of fun on track and off track.
Well, your reputation, obviously I don't know you well, but the reputation and all the
feedback that I get from everybody on our Fox team is that you're always going to
have a smile.
You're always going to shake everybody's hands.
You're going to be quite a pleasure to be around.
And I think when you look at that and you look at the determination that you bring to
the racetrack, winning four out of five championships, no matter if you're good, happy, sad, mad,
no matter what that is and no matter what the series it's in, it's hard.
And where does this championship rank over the previous three compared to how it went?
I mean, I know you want a lot of races, but how does this one rank in compared to
the last three?
I gotta say this has been the best by far.
I mean, just the amount of success we had, you know, how tough it is to win races.
And I've been lucky enough to win eight this year, the 500, and then the championship.
Like it's just been one of those very complete years where we had so much space, we were
able to execute perfectly.
We had that sparkle of luck whenever we needed on those strategies sometimes.
And so it's been a magical year for me.
Like last year in 2024, we won the championship and we only won two or three races.
So that shows you that how special this year has been.
And yeah, it's been a really cool one.
I'm a bit sad that it ended, you know, whenever you're having such a good year, you don't
want it to end.
You just want to keep on going.
You want to get more races and get some more good memories.
As you look at those, you know, the last five years in general, how many, how many changes
have you had within the team?
Has there been big shakeups or have you had pretty consistent team around you the whole
time?
No, I've been very lucky to have a very consistent team like my crew chief, my race engineer,
my strategies.
These three people have always been there and they've always been the same at the
same place as well.
Like I've been very lucky.
I think there's been a lot of other teams and many other cars as well that have changed a
lot more to people.
And you know, when you have that chemistry with your strategies, with your race engineer
that is able to get you that set up change that you need.
He knows when I say that I have a little bit of obesity.
He knows what I mean.
He knows what I need and what I like, what I don't like.
So I've been very fortunate to keep my group the same.
So over the last five years, what would you say the biggest change that you've made from
a driver's standpoint?
Because you know, I feel like we're all faster when we're younger.
You're still really fast, obviously.
But I always found that, you know, it was easier to start beating people because
of that consistency in your team and the details that you start to pick out as
a driver to go with that speed.
What's been the biggest changes for you as a driver that you feel like you have
progressed over the last five years?
I would say just being able, as you say, to clean up all the details during the races,
like understanding what you need to win a street Indica race.
Like I need to take care of those tires, of the fuel.
I need to know what's going on on the different tire compounds.
And just that communication with the team is very important.
But then you go to a road course or a noble race and you need a completely different
mindset or strategies to go on.
So I would say that this was probably the area where I was lacking a little
bit more when I started in 2020 and 2021 in Indica.
But now I feel a lot more comfortable.
I know there's a lot more to come because I can see that from my teammate,
Scott Dixon, that he's probably the best at reading the race and
positioning himself or doing everything he can to try and help the team get
the best strategy for him.
But yeah, I feel a lot more comfortable now than I was four or five years ago.
What does a week look like for you from a training standpoint?
And how do you what's the training for for yourself?
Has that progressed through the years or has it gone down and you feel like
you're more consistent?
What what's that look like during the week from from a driver's standpoint
in the car series?
I do. So it depends if it's on season or off season.
On season I go like, let's say Monday to Thursday before we travel to
a race weekend.
I go and I work out with my trainer in Indianapolis, let's say an hour and a
half CrossFit and we do a lot of stuff that it's for for the driver,
you know, like neck grip work and a little bit of cardio.
Then I normally have a couple of days that I need to go to the shop
or we need to do the simulator ahead of the weekend to prepare it.
And that's it.
Like, I mean, that's basically the routine.
Obviously, you have media here and there that you need to do or events.
But that would be my prep week.
And when it's off season, I would say it's a little bit more than when we're
in season, you just need to build that that endurance, that muscle
to try and keep it throughout the season, because normally it declines.
Whilst you are in season, it just goes down.
You feel more tired in the car, basically,
because we're traveling from race to race.
And it's it's tough.
It's tough to to be feeling good physically.
So was there was there any thing that you had a challenge with this season?
Were there any of those moments where you're like, man, that was a tough weekend
or we needed to get better?
You got got worried at any point in the season,
because it looked like a pretty flawless year from start to finish.
Honestly, I always whenever we had a bad weekend,
we've always knew why was it because of I screw up, whatever,
like, I don't know, a pit sequence or a strategy or we had that yellow
that put us from leading the race to like 15, you know, there was always something.
I think we've been out of 17 races within like 12 or 13 times in the podium.
Like it's been one of those years that are like crazy.
So, yeah, this year, we've just been feeling really, really good,
really strong about our car, our chances and it's been really fun.
So you win the Indy 500, you win the Indy car championship.
Which one's bigger?
I this is as far as the media and the attention and everything that goes with it.
It seems like it, you know, the Indy 500 is just such a massive event.
What feels bigger at this point?
When in the championship or the Indy 500?
Media attention wise and people attention wise, the 500 by far.
Yeah, it just feels like that race is seen by everybody, even overseas.
Feels like everybody, well, there's like people that doesn't really follow racing that much,
but they always follow the 500.
So you have a lot more attention during the 500 than the championship.
I think that it feels also more special winning the 500
because you cannot really prepare for it.
Like you, it's a one day show, there's 350,000 people at the track
and you don't know if you're going to win or you're going to finish last
until that last pit stop and then you kind of prepare yourself to fight at the end.
The championship, it's 17 races.
So you kind of prepare yourself mentally for that championship battle
and then you likely end up winning.
But yeah, they're both amazing.
And I think just lucky enough to win both the same year.
Yeah. Well, to win them both in the same year is an unbelievable accomplishment.
And I think as you look at the Indy 500,
oval racing is obviously not your background.
You have the Indy 500 and then you have the race ending at Nashville.
How is your progression on those ovals?
And it's become obviously something you're really good at now,
but that progression of learning the ovals,
what has been the biggest thing that's really made it turn into
consistent wins now and being in contention on those ovals week after week
from your standpoint that that was hard to get used to?
A little bit of everything, like how the race evolves
and how do you need to take care of the tires?
Like I was good or at least I understood what I needed to do
on road and street courses to try and get,
take care of those tires to have more at the end
or to be able to fight on ovals.
I had no idea. I was like, I just drive and I just try and survive.
And then also like going through traffic,
like going through traffic for us, it's quite tough.
You need to use like multiple lanes and to be able to do that,
you need to set up your car before the race, obviously.
So I would always have a balance that was not what I needed for traffic.
But this year, sadly, I understood what I needed.
We understood what I needed from myself of like how to set up a pass
and all that stuff that goes along.
So I would say just I learned a little bit of how I needed to race.
I, before I was just being part of the race.
So you had a flat tire yesterday.
Did, was that something that happened instantly
or was that something where the tire was worn out?
Because you caught it.
There's not many people that can catch it.
So I think that that shows the incredible feel
that you have with that race car.
You kept kept that thing out of the wall
and drove straight to the pits.
So I caught it on entry of turn one.
So I started feeling like a lot of vibration.
I had vibrations that they were building.
So I started feeling a lot of vibration on entry
and I was like, oh boy, like this is not good.
So I started slowing down
and then suddenly my steering angle, you know,
like you just suddenly wash.
And I was like, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.
But I was lucky enough that it's, although it went flat,
it didn't go completely flat until the exit
when my steering wheel was already straight.
And I was able to, we only lost like, I would say five seconds.
It was crazy.
Like, oh, super lucky.
Yeah, you didn't lose much.
Yeah.
No, I didn't lose much.
I was, I was lucky.
I was very lucky that I was able to get back
to the pits without losing much or crashing the car.
So you won the championship with, you know,
a couple of races to go.
And now there's, there's chatter of a playoff system.
How do you feel about the talk of a playoff system?
Because I know for me, I was, I'm a very, I'm old.
So I'm, I'm somewhat traditional.
I like the whole season mattering,
but being in the middle of the NASCAR playoffs
and the pressure and intensity that comes with that,
is that something you'd be for against?
Where do you, where do you lay on, on how we decide,
how you would decide the season championship
if you had some playoff races?
I, I am very traditional as well.
Honestly, I think if I think about this season,
winning eight races,
and then you go to the last race of the season,
and you just have a bad strategy call or a bad caution,
or you get into traffic with somebody
that is fighting for P27.
And, and, and you are not allowed
to win the championship because of that.
I think that's, that's not really fun.
I, I wouldn't like it.
But if that's the way the sport goes,
honestly, it is what it is.
I'll, I'll just adapt to it.
And I'll need to just be better at the end of the season.
But I, I am a very traditional guy.
And I think that if you've been able to win
or to put a lot of points at the beginning of the season,
you should be rewarded for it.
When I look at the, the IndyCar season,
obviously there, you know,
was a lot of drama with the Pinsky organization
and all the things that, that, that happened there.
You got new ownership on that side.
Where do you feel like IndyCar racing is as a whole
as you move forward?
It seems like you guys have worked through
a lot of those things and had a great end of the season.
Where does, where does 2026 take IndyCar racing?
How do you see it looking different?
How do you see the momentum of new TV partner
with Fox coming in and all the things that, that,
and their enthusiasm that has gone with
putting you guys on, on network TV.
And, and where do you think the overall picture
of IndyCar racing is in, in your mind?
I'm excited. I'm very excited.
I think this was the first year with Fox being part of IndyCar.
And now they took a little bit of ownership as well
towards the last part of the season,
which I think it's amazing for the sport.
We just need a partner that puts us
in front of a lot of people to let them know
what IndyCar is about, to show them the races,
to, for them to discover the different driver personalities
and then for them to come to the races.
So I, I am very excited.
I think we've seen a big increase this year
with all the, all the attention that Fox created.
I mean, we were on a Super Bowl commercial.
Like, I was there.
Paddle had another one.
IndyCar had another one.
And Joseph had another one.
Like they spend a lot of time and resources
to, to, to make IndyCar bigger.
And you could see that when going to racetracks.
So, yeah, I can't wait to see what the future holds.
I know that there's some exciting news
and new racetracks that are going to be
part of the calendar.
And I'm sure that people is going to love it.
Yeah. When you, when you talk about those,
those new racetracks, obviously,
the trucks are going with you guys to, to St. Pete.
Phoenix is going to be on, on the schedule
with IndyCar, NASCAR, double headers.
And, and so we've had a couple of those weekends.
I've been a part of those at the, at the Indy road course.
And, and as you look at those combo events,
I'm a race fan.
So I love having the mixture of, of the drivers
from completely different forms of racing
because I don't think people realize
IndyCar drivers, NASCAR drivers, F1 drivers,
we all share the same thing.
And that's the love of, of the sport.
How do you feel about having those events together
and what that brings to the racing world?
I love it. I think it's, yeah, as a fan as well.
I love it. Like just imagining that you can
get to see different races and so different series
at the same time, the same weekend.
It's, it's amazing.
I would love if we could be a little bit more
together, not like what we had,
I would say two years ago that we were very separate.
And I just wanted to see the NASCAR cars as well.
Like I, I, I wanted to be close to that car.
But I think it's going to be a little better in 2026.
And it's fun.
I think it's super fun for drivers and, and fans.
So the big question I had when we did the road course
racing at, at the Brickyard, I grew up a Rick Mears fan.
All I wanted to do was race in the Indy 500.
I got to compete there in NASCAR.
But I always felt weird about going backwards
on the front straightaway at Indy.
And I always thought that there should never be
anything on the racetrack at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
other than the Brickyard 400 and the Indy 500.
Do you, do you sound like a traditional guy,
but you're in the Indy car world.
Maybe you can give me some different perspective
on going backwards down the front straightaway
at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
because I never could wrap my arms around it.
And I didn't really like the road course at Indy.
So help me with this.
Yeah. I mean, although I'm traditional, I love my road courses.
And I, I really like Indy road course.
Yeah. It might just be because of how the car feels as well.
But I don't know, we, we're set up very differently
when we're in the garages and when we're on the road course.
So for me, it's very easily mentally to just go
do the road course and then in today's switch
and be like Indify hard about like it just changes completely
the mindset and how, how we're set up
and how we look forward to the race.
So yeah, for me, it's not that hard.
But yeah, I understand there's, there's some drivers
that also have a hard time going towards the other end of,
of the straight on the road course.
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Well, I was also not very good there.
So maybe that was part of the problem.
You mentioned the fact that you want to see the NASCAR cars
and the things that they do.
Would you ever be interested in driving one of those cars
at one of the road course races?
Because we've seen SVG and a lot of these other guys
that have come over here and had fun with it.
I think that IndyCar drivers, NASCAR drivers,
I think they should always try to participate in the 24 hours.
I love the fact that our car is on the NASCAR side
is more capable of letting you guys kind of move around
and be come over and be competitive
with the way that the car drives now.
Is that something that you would be interested in doing?
I think it'd be great for the sport
and I think it'd be fun to watch
and I think you'd do pretty good at it.
Oh yeah, absolutely.
I would love to test first and see how competitive I am
because you never know, the cars are so different.
The way you drive an IndyCar is super late,
super hard on the brakes
and I think it would be a lot tougher
for me to go to a NASCAR.
But I would love to do a test, see how I am
and I would love if I'm okay to do a road course race
and see how that racing is.
It looks fun, the series looks super competitive
and those races look challenging.
Yeah, they are challenging.
They've run into each other a lot now,
so that would be different for you.
I know, that would be very different for that thing.
Yeah.
Yeah, I think I would have a hard time with that
and then maybe going back to IndyCar
and just like going and taking somebody off
on the first corner, but yeah,
that would be a bit challenging.
So you're done, it's the 1st of September.
So what happens now?
Do you go race anything else
or do you just plan for next year?
What's the plan between now and the start of the season?
Because for me, I'm a rhythm guy
and if I sit around that long,
I have to get into something.
Do you cart, do you go race other division?
What's the plan?
Yeah, I'll try and do as many stuff as I can.
Last year I was able to do some GT races,
although it's very different, it's still the same.
You're still having pedals for wheels and an engine.
So I'll still try and do some GT stuff.
If I can, I'll go and do Petite Le Mans with the GTP cars
and I'll do some go-kart testing and viking.
Like you know, that's the purest motorsport thing
and the hardest probably.
So yeah, I also need to be in that rhythm,
need to be driving a race car to just be sharp
and get ready for next season.
But yeah, it's tough that the season,
our season ends so early.
I just love to be around the race cars and to be driving.
So it's going to feel like a very long off season for sure.
So do you have any hobbies?
Not really.
I mean, working out, playing with my daughter
as much as possible and sim racing.
But yeah, I don't do any other stuff.
I try to go off.
That's not my thing at least for now.
I might try and do it again,
but it's very frustrating for me.
So yeah, I might give it another try.
Yeah, well, golf for me turned into shooting guns
because myself and Ron Hornaday,
we decided we were going to play golf
and we took ourselves to the golf course
and realized that golf really wasn't for us.
I enjoy golf, but I'm like you.
I'm not very good at it and I get frustrated really quick.
You've got one of the most intense owners
that ever stepped foot into racing.
Did you get that big Chip Ganassi bear hug yesterday
and what has Chip been like through this year?
Because I know he always talks about love and winners
and right now you guys are winning a lot.
So how is that?
Did you get the bear hug from Chip
and is there anything great that you can tell us
that happened after winning that championship with your owner?
Yeah, the hug and the slap.
If you watch, he always does a big slap.
I think he doesn't realize, but he has a big grip
and he's very excited when you win.
So he slaps you very hard, which is great.
I love it.
It keeps you awake, but honestly, he's been amazing.
We've had so much success.
I've been with the team five years now
and we've been able to win four championships
and won in the 500.
So I've been keeping him happy
and we've been having a lot of fun at the racetrack.
So it's been amazing the opportunity
to drive that number 10 car
and he just gives everything that we need
to the drivers, to the engineers, the mechanics.
We have all the tools that we need to go win.
So it's amazing to be part of the team.
Well, you've been a part of obviously with the F1 grid
and everything that has been happening there.
Your name keeps popping up.
Is that something that is even possible
at this point in your career?
No, honestly, I think it's all rumors
and media just trying to make for different news.
But I mean, possible, everything is possible,
but honestly, I'm so happy here.
I know I have an amazing opportunity in front of me
of continuing to have more success with this team
in this series.
So yeah, it's not something I think about.
That was something that I was chasing before
and I would say after my first IndyCar championship,
but not now.
I'm happy here and I'm trying to build something amazing.
Yeah, well, you've already built something.
You've already done something amazing,
but I think for people that don't understand,
especially on our side of the world over here,
explain some of the differences that you think would be there
going from IndyCar to F1.
Because from the outside looking in,
people say, oh, that IndyCar looks just like that F1 car.
But you and I both know that that's not the case.
And being in those systems,
you went through the whole system kind of down that F1 path
and then you wound up in IndyCar.
But it's really hard to go back and do something
after you've dedicated getting the details
of a high-level racing division down.
Explain what would be hard about that to our fans
who don't understand as they just look at the two cars.
Yeah, I mean, although they are similar,
they have big differences.
When you look at how an IndyCar is built
and how a F1 is built,
just starting by, in IndyCar, it's a spec series.
Like we don't develop.
It's all about setup and how we put the car together
as a team to make it a little bit faster.
In F1, they have development for everything.
They develop brakes, aero engines.
Like they develop every single piece of that race car
continuously, year in, year out.
So the cars develop a lot
and they have a lot more downforce than us.
They have power steering.
They have a lot more power than us.
Like it's a little bit bigger car.
I don't think that I drove an F1 two years or three years ago.
It's not that different to drive one.
It's a lot faster,
but it's not like a completely different driving style.
But as you said, when you have dedicated so much time
in NASCAR or IndyCar or F1,
you become really good at knowing exactly
what you need to go fast at an IndyCar,
to win at an IndyCar.
So for me to go to NASCAR or to F1,
I would need to learn all those details.
I would need to understand what I need in F1
to take care of those tires or in NASCAR
to be sure that I'm able to overtake
on a draft.
Every single series, there's those details
that make the bigger differences.
It's not about going fast.
I think everybody is able to go fast on any car.
Like all drivers, if you give time, it's quite easy.
So last question.
As a kid growing up, who was your idol?
Who did you idolize as a kid as a race driver?
Schumacher, Michael Schumacher.
When he was in the Ferrari era, he was winning a lot in F1.
He was driving a red car.
And as a kid, that was the thing that I really liked the most.
So yeah, Schumacher was a guy.
Well, there's a lot of kids that are idolizing you now.
And Alex, you've done an absolutely phenomenal job.
Congratulations on what has been not only
an incredible season, but an incredible last five years.
And we wish you continued success and enjoy this.
You never know when it's going to end.
So celebrate it like it's the last one.
And although you hope it's not, have some fun with it.
I know.
And we look forward to watching you again.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
I will.
Thank you so much, guys.
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